Miner&#39;s pick



Patented l eb. 10, 1931 UNITED S'TATES PTENr-. oFFIcE .TAY G. SPARKS, OFCLINCHCO, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FIFTH '1 M. CHI LDRESS, ONE-FIFTH TOH. J. CHILDRESS, ONE FIFTH TO A. W. MARTIN AND ONE-FIFTH TO B. P. GOAD,ALL OF CLINCECO, VIRGINIA i A A f 1 MINER'S PICK Application filed May13, 1927. Serial No. 191,198.

'This invention relates to picks and more particularly to a pickintended for use by coal miners although it may be used by otherworkmen.

When a miner is' digging coal, the. pick often digs deeply into the coaland the handle close to the pick head will strike the coal or rock. ThisCauses the handle to be worn away close to the pick head and weakens thehandle to such an extent that it must be discarded and a new onesubstituted.

Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide the pick handlewith a guard constituting a shield for the portion of the han dleclose'to the head and preventing the han dle from being quickly wornaway and weakened. r

It has also been found that, when a miner attempts to pry loosened coalfrom the' Inam body in the mine, the handle will often be broken offclose to the head or wrenched loose so that the head does not fittightly upon the handle. r

- Therefore, another object of the invention is to provide an attachmentwhich will serve not only as a shield for the handle but also constitutea reinforcement for the handle and securely hold the pick upon thehandle.

The inventon is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein vFigure 1 is a view showing the improved pick principally in sideelevation and partially in section; v

Fig. 2is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; 4

Fig. 3 s a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l,and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the combined handle guard and headfastener.

The head 1 of the pick is formed With the usual eye 2 through which thehandle 3 is 'passed with its enlarged end portionfitting tightly in theeye and at opposite ends of the eye the pick head is formed withlongitudinally extending recesses i constituting seats. It should alsobe noted that opposite side edge portions of the enlarged end of the'handle are formed with longitudinally extending grooves 5 whichcommunicate with the recesses l. 'Except for the grooves rand recesses4, the pick handle and head conventional construction. In -o'rder toreinforce the handle adjacent the head and securely hold the head uponthe handle, there has' been provided a combined handle guard 1 and headfastener, a perspective view of whichis shown in Fig., 4. This combi-nedhandle guard and head fastener is formed with' a sleeve 6 which fitssnugly about the -inner end of the enlarged end portion of the handle 3.It should be noted that are of' a the sleeve and the enlarged portion ofthe' v handle about which it is disposed taper ini wardly sothat the'sleeve'cannot be' moved toward the outer end 'of the handle beyond theposition shown in Fig. 1. Arms 7 extend from the sleeve 6 toward theouter end of the' handle and terminate in stems 8 which are i solid, asshown in Figs. 2 and l, andpreferably circular in cross section so thatthey may fit snugly in the grooves 5 and end portions of the eye 2. Thearms 7 are U-shaped in cross section thereby providing side walls 9which overlie opposed faces of the handle, as shown 'in Figs. 1 and 3.By referring to these figures, it will be seen that the enlarged portionof the handle close to the pick head will .be to a large eXtent enclosedin metal and, therefore, when the pick is in use, coal or rock will beprevented from wearing the handle away close to the pick head andcausing-it to be weakened.

When the pick is' assembled, the handle' is first passed through the eye2 and the head moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 where it will bewedged tightly upon the enlarged the eye and their free ends projectingoutwardly therefrom The projecting end-portions' of the stems are thenbent over and struck' with a hammer or the like until they are seated inthe recesses 4. It will thus Lbe seen that the attachment will serve asa shield or guard for the portion of the handle close to the head andalso constitute a fastener to securely hold the pick head in place uponthe handle and p i-event the handle from being Wrenched loose or brokenWhen'attempting to pry coal Or rock loose. When it is necessary to.replace a, Worn out pick, or broken handle, the bent end portions of theprongs are straightened and the pick head and handle can' be separated.

Having thus: described the inVenti on', claim:

The combination With a -pick having the usual handle-receiving eye, andprovided at opposite ends of the eye and adjacent the face of the pickWith lateral recesses, and a handle having the accustomed enlarged endWedging fit the eye of the pick,

to obtain a and having grooves in opposite edgeS/O the enlarged end, ofa combined guard for the handle and fastener for the pick including asleeve engaging the inner portionof thehan dle enlargement, armsprojecting from the sleeve and extending along the edges and adacentside portions of the handle enlarge ment, and stems uni'formt throughouttheir length and snugly fitting Within the ends of the eye' and thegroo-Ved edges of the handle enlargement and having their terminalportions seated Within the recesses of the eye.

In testimony Whereof I aflix my signature.

[L. s.] JAY G. SPARKS.

